Truer words have never been spoken - NBC hate

I'm sure many of you (at least those of you in the US) have probably been frustrated with NBC's coverage of gymnastics at the Olympics. It's actually not just the Olympics, it's their coverage of gymnastics in general.

Anyway, I personally have not watched any of the televised broadcasts. I've watched everything on NBC's livestream with Shannon Miller and have thoroughly enjoyed it. But unfortunately people relying on TV have had to suffer the incompetence of Tim Daggett, Elfi Schlegel, and Al Trautwig.

This article basically sums up every frustration I've had with NBC for years, and I'm sure many gymnastics fans feel the same:

I am annoyed by NBC coverage sure but there are some points to consider I guess: but yeah I just totally *Like that article and posted it on my Facebook.

1/ There are way too many events to cover, the whole Gymnastics meet is about what 3-4 hrs? So they have to cut out some! If we have to watch the entire meet in its entirety, people would get bored. Same with watching swimming, rowing, cycling, diving all the times.

2/ Of course NBC is biased toward the American athletes and whoever are in top 5 (Russia, Japan, China). You rarely see coverage from countries like Germany or Ukraine or Brazil.

3/ Try youtube, bbc, nbc live links or google the name of the gymnast you want to watch. Sometimes you can find older meets dated back to 2006/2004.

Unfortunately, gymnastics isn't a major sport in the US, plain and simple. There are dozens of other sports that can complain that they get no coverage at all. The fact that gymnastics gets any coverage in non-Olympic years is the bigger surprise, to me, anyway.

the other reality is that gymnastics just doesn't have that superstar that's going to draw people to the sport. Mary Lou might be considered the biggest personality the sport in the US has ever seen. A sport like gymnastics NEEDS someone like that to draw attention to itself. And with the current scoring system, as you and I have discussed, it's almost impossible to create a superstar. I believe figure skating achieved a peak in popularity when Michele Kwan started achieving all of her perfect scores, especially for her artistry. She was setting new benchmarks for the sport and that created tremendous interest for years.

1. Gymnastics is hands-down the most watched sport at the Olympics both in ticket sales and in TV ratings.

2. USA is not an underdog in gymnastics. At least not the women's gymnastics team. They definitely were the underdogs before the 1990s when the Eastern Bloc countries completely dominated, but the fall of the Iron Curtain allowed the US to start making a mark on the sport. Also, the US has dominated the sport for most of the past decade. The past three Olympic All Around Champions have been American and four World All Around Champions since 2005 have been American.

3. Gabby Douglas is the true underdog story where last year she was a long shot for even making the World Championship team in Tokyo. She went from a mediocre national team member to two-time Olympic Champion in less than a year. I have never seen any American gymnast make that kind of rise in such a short amount of time to become the Olympic All Around Champion! It's even more amazing considering her biggest competition was eliminated from the get-go when Jordyn Wieber didn't qualify to the all-around final due to the two-per-country rule.

4. So far NBC has been fixated on nothing BUT the Americans! A lot of my gymternet friends have complained that they don't even bother to show many routines from other countries (even the top countries!). When they do, it's usually just a couple of Russians only to take a moment to talk about how the Russian gymnasts are acting like divas. The diva thing they have overdone for the past two years that's already reached a point of being over the top and unnecessary.

By the way, I'm simply complaining about NBC's TV coverage. NBCOlympic's livestream coverage online has been absolutely fantastic because it's completely different from their TV broadcast. The TV broadcast features the usual Terrible Trio of Al Trautwig, Tim Daggett, and Elfi Schlegel. The livestream has featured Shannon Miller and some South African guy (who's a bit dimwitted). However, Shannon Miller could not have made my Olympic-viewing experience any more pleasant than it has been!

I've been following this sport since 1994 and have never missed a single televised broadcast until these Olympics. It's just frustrating to see NBC's coverage of gymnastics in general (not just the Olympics) continue to get shittier and shittier by the year because of the stupid NBC agenda they play. That's why I fell in love with this article. A true gymnastics fan doesn't tolerate this shit because we already have for too long. I mean, why bother to air gymnastics on TV at all if the network and commentators are only going to continue to do a shit job of it? I've been following most gymnastics competitions online since 2005/2006 because NBC has lost their touch

NBC just sucks. They've been criticized aplenty for their sports coverage in the past, primarily with "minor" sports.

At the same time, until those minor sports start garnering more consistent interest, which is more appealing for advertisers, which equals greater potential revenue, it won't change. There are tons of minor sports that don't get appropriate coverage. And, in the Olympics, there are tons of sports that literally get no coverage during prime time viewing. Based on prime-time viewing, one would think that the first week of the Olympics only had two sports: gymnastics and swimming.

By Jingo! What a story... those announcers sure are working the mics for their stage time and glory... thankfully, the Olympics can be enjoyed on mute, reading the states and scores as they are shown on the screen. No fuss, no problem. I prefer to listen to music while announcers talk their talk.

I just find it ironic that NBC's online coverage has been absolutely stellar. I sure ain't complaining about that! Even though NBC's TV broadcast has been the shittiest ever, my online viewing experience has been the best ever.

I was upset that NBC didn't broadcast gymnastics in the first hour of primetime when the little girls I teach would have been awake to watch it. Gabby Douglas' gold medal would have done magic for getting little girls and especially those of color interested in the sport. It probably still will but it would have made a greater impact if they could have watched it before their bedtime.

nicobolsillo saidI'm sure many of you (at least those of you in the US) have probably been frustrated with NBC's coverage of gymnastics at the Olympics. It's actually not just the Olympics, it's their coverage of gymnastics in general.

Anyway, I personally have not watched any of the televised broadcasts. I've watched everything on NBC's livestream with Shannon Miller and have thoroughly enjoyed it. But unfortunately people relying on TV have had to suffer the incompetence of Tim Daggett, Elfi Schlegel, and Al Trautwig.

This article basically sums up every frustration I've had with NBC for years, and I'm sure many gymnastics fans feel the same:

nicobolsillo saidI'm sure many of you (at least those of you in the US) have probably been frustrated with NBC's coverage of gymnastics at the Olympics. It's actually not just the Olympics, it's their coverage of gymnastics in general.

Anyway, I personally have not watched any of the televised broadcasts. I've watched everything on NBC's livestream with Shannon Miller and have thoroughly enjoyed it. But unfortunately people relying on TV have had to suffer the incompetence of Tim Daggett, Elfi Schlegel, and Al Trautwig.

This article basically sums up every frustration I've had with NBC for years, and I'm sure many gymnastics fans feel the same:

I can't wait it online (NBC won't let me) so I have to watch it on TV. I don't have anything to compare it to and so far I don't mind the commentary?

LOL! I find it very sad that you have nothing to compare it to. You really have no idea what crap they're feeding you. For the record, NBC did not always suck. They used to show more variety and some commentary of substance. I'd say all the Olympic competitions they covered before 2004 were pretty good. But they've been on a downhill slide since then. It's the NBC agenda they push that makes them come off as moronic douche nozzles.

Nico, what effect do you think Gabby Douglas and the black guy on the men's team will have on getting African American kids in gymnastics programs? I talked to the director of summer camps at the rec department this afternoon and she said no black children were registered for the gymnastics camp. Is gymnastics training financially out of the reach of the disadvantaged kids, minority or not. I'm looking at a whole new area of channeling the disciplinary problems' energies but I don't want to make suggestions that would be a financial burden on the families.

Coach_Mike saidNico, what effect do you think Gabby Douglas and the black guy on the men's team will have on getting African American kids in gymnastics programs? I talked to the director of summer camps at the rec department this afternoon and she said no black children were registered for the gymnastics camp. Is gymnastics training financially out of the reach of the disadvantaged kids, minority or not. I'm looking at a whole new area of channeling the disciplinary problems' energies but I don't want to make suggestions that would be a financial burden on the families.

Well, I have no idea. I think it's much too soon to make that call considering the games aren't even over yet. However, I'm sure Gabby Douglas and John Orozco are already seen as positive role models for minorities who might want to get into gymnastics. I'd say Dominique Dawes' success is a telling story already. Gabby's success can only help.

There's already a lot of ethnic diversity on Team USA. Look at the list for the national teams (both junior and senior elites), and you'll see how far the US has come along in that regard in gymnastics.

I watch from the perspective of someone with a very limited knowledge of the sport and who just finds the routines entertaining but I always find myself wondering what's up with that really nasty gay guy and the douchebag who sounds like he knows as much about the sport as I do.